A Home Office Upgrade You Might Consider for 2012

Colder weather means many of us are staying indoors the majority of the day, which also means most of the air we're breathing in is "stale", if not downright unhealthy. Consider making an office upgrade for 2012 by following the footsteps of graphic designer, Sunmo Ku, and add a few houseplants to the home office. It's certainly cheaper than an air purifier (though we recommendthose too), and we think they're great for hiding tech eyesores, while also adding an element of relaxing natural decor.

These type of large palms and similar easy to keep potted indoor plants can be had at IKEA or Target for around $30 (sans pot). Note, they make excellent room dividers. If you really want to get serious about improving interior air, you might want to review this list of 11 houseplants deemed best for air filtration, as studied by NASA for space shuttles.

But honestly, we think even subtracting the element of air purification, even a single potted plant can make a noticeable upgrade to any home office, especially in months when greenery outdoors as much of an option. As they say, a little green goes a long way (are we remembering a Harold & Kumar quote?).